The Protector
by J3ZA
Summary: Not finished only first 2 chapters, Please Read and Review so far


Chapter 1

In the beginning evil cowered and hid itself, far from any other civilisation, far from any place on a map, and there it lay, dormant, waiting, planning.

The sun is shining high, there isn't a cloud in the bright blue sky, the grass is green and the birds are chirping cheerfully as I make my way down the stone and gravel path. I stroll casually towards the grand castle that sits near the edge of a lake, taking in the picturesque views as I stroll through parts of woodland, and parts of open land. After walking up hill for a short period of time the ground starts to even out, with every step I take I can see more of the castle. Eventually I get to the peak of the path before it starts to slope down towards the castle. I have now been walking for a few hours and the sun is softly setting behind the castle, turning the sky a mixture of pink and orange and lighting the clouds in the most amazing way. The reflection of the castle and the hills over the lake beyond can be seen clearly in the shining and shimmering blue water as it lays idle. I start to head down the path towards the castle hoping that I'm not late. I pass through the large village in front of the castle and finally reach its large oak doors. I stand in front of the large doors not knowing what to do.

"What brings you to Held Castle?" a voice yells.  
I jump slightly with and look up and see a guard standing above the gates, "I have been summoned here, my name is Strider." I say in a deep serious tone.  
After I say this I hear some clanking of metal then the large oak door begins to edge open. I walk through them and into the castles large courtyard area. I'm unsure and nervous at what I'm supposed to be doing. I look around for where I am supposed to go or who I'm supposed to meet. I see a man opposite me searching the courtyard with his eyes. We make eye contact and his expression changes instantly to one of relief. He starts to cross the courtyard hurriedly nearly knocking 3 people over in the process. I chuckle in head with amusement.  
"Strider, I presume. We have been waiting for you, follow me quickly please, the proceedings are about to begin." He says in a deep tone.  
I nod and begin to follow him feeling unsure of what to expect. I follow him through doors that lead to the inner parts of the grand castle; we come to an unusually large pair doors, the man I'm following pushes one of them open slightly, just enough for us to be able to walk through comfortably. Behind the large doors there is a hall so grand and large it looks like something out of a dream. The hall's walls are decorated with the most beautiful and picturesque paintings I've ever seen in my entire life. The hall stretches far and every few meters there are giant dark wood pillars supporting the intricately decorated roof that is also wood and has carvings on it, we walk on the bright, colourful and patterned carpets lying over the wooden floors until we finally reach another set of doors, these are not as large nor as grand looking but are still a beautiful colour. The man I'm following again pushes the door open for me and when I step through I see nine people standing in front of an elevated podium. The podium has a large marble table situated on it. The table currently seats four people but there is one more seat empty on the end. The man I was following tells me to stand next to the other nine people before he goes up onto the podium and fills the empty seat. I stand in the straight line with my hands behind my back, looking at the people sitting on the table and wondering with excitement and a stomach full of nerves what will happen next? Why are we here? Are the rumours true? While all these thoughts are racing through my head the man in the middle of the table stands, refocusing my attention. The man is quite tall and is waring a pure white robe, he has a grey beard and what little hair he has is also grey.  
"Welcome to Held castle, my name is Yeabb"

As soon as I hear the words leave his lips vague memories of my childhood flood back, vague memories of my mother and how she told me tales of better places, tales of peace, justice and people who were the heroes of our lands and the world, people who had kept evil at bay and made the world safe, people who I admired and strived to be like. The flashback gives me a warm feeling and I'm feeling slightly happier.

My focus returns to the room just as Yeabb stops talking and sits down. The man on the end of the marble table stands smiling funnily, I chuckle to myself but he must hear me because je shoots me a look that tells me he is less than impressed.  
"I am Kane," he boasts in a loud voice returning his gaze to the other nine people standing to the left of me. I'm not very happy that I've already made somewhat of an enemy, but I try to focus and listen to what he is saying.

"Soon you will be guided to your own chambers where you will find information on why you are here and what your agenda will be while you are here," He says in a cheerful tone, "Each of you will be shown to your chambers by a member of the castles staff. First is….. Strider, I turn to the doors and see them open, there is a hooded and robed man standing there. I presume he is the castles staff so I walk behind him and begin to follow.

I follow the castle staff member through the castles corridors to an upstairs section of the castle until we come to wooden door with a golden handle.  
"This is your room, all your supplies and clothes are inside." He says

I nod at him and open the door as he starts to walk away. I'm so tired as soon as I shut the door behind me I fall onto the bed, nearly squashing the papers on the bed. I sit up and open the papers. They read:

"_Greetings,  
If you are reading this chances are you are in the ranking of the top ten Protectors. Every time a Protector is unable to work or dies, a new Protector must be reinstated quickly. Unfortunately we heard about the protectors passing very late and evil has already started to surface. You are now part of a fifteen day selection process to find the new protector. You have been gathered from all over the world but only one person can hold the title of the most sacred title, The Protector. Also in these papers you will find an agenda listing all competitions you will be participating in throughout your time here. We hope you try your best,_

Best Wishes  
Yeabb."

I find the piece of paper he was talking about and glance at what I'm doing tomorrow, social day, social day? Why do we need a social day? This makes me upset that the good part of tomorrow will have to be spent socializing with people, the fact that I prefer to be anti-social and keep to myself doesn't help the fact either. I move the clothes and papers off my bed and immediately start to sleep. 

Chapter 2

I wake to hear birds chirping cheerfully and the sun shining through the window and brightening the room. I slowly roll out of bed and fall on the floor. I still feel like I've hardly slept but I manage to pull myself up to a standing position. I shuffle over to the chest of draws, take out some clothes, and get dressed. I Stumble out of my room now dressed and walk down the stairs into an open area where there is a table set out beneath with all kinds of foods, my eyes widen as my nostrils fill with the delicious smells wafting up. Until now I hadn't realised how hungry I was. I rush down the stairs nearly falling over twice; I get to the table and sit down grabbing a plate. I reach onto the table filling my plate with all kinds of things. I finish grabbing food and sit back in my seat and start eating. I glance up from my plate for a second and realise that there is a girl sitting near the end of the table opposite me. She is sitting with very good posture quietly and neatly eating. I put my attention back to my food.  
As I begin to finish eating more people come and start to sit at the table, I guess I didn't sleep in after all. I see the girl that was sitting before standing and she starts to walk towards one of the corridors. I leave my plate and stand, I decide to follow her and at least find out her name and see if she is trying to become the protector as well. She walks through the castle hallways, me following at a distance. She opens a door and walks out onto a balcony, she rests her arms on the edge of the stone balcony. I walk onto the balcony and stand next to her. She seems to just be starring at the view of the river and the mountains behind it.

"Hi," I say quietly "My names strider, what's yours?"  
She disappears into thin air, completely shocked that there is now no one standing there I decide I should head back to the area where the table was set up and hopefully figure out what to do for the rest of the day. As I walk into the area I see the table and to my shock, the same girl from the balcony is sitting at the table. I see Yeabb walking in the room and hope we can find out what we have to do for this "social day". He walks to the head of the table and clears his throat,  
"Today isn't so much as a social day as you might have expected," Relief washes over me instantly as he says this, "its more of a chance to find out who and what you are up against for the title of protector. No tasks have been organised, just a free day." After he finishes he starts to walk out. I decide I'm not going to stick around but rather today Ill leave the castle and look around in the town and look and some of the scenery. 


End file.
